Ice making machines described in the art typically form clear crystalline ice by freezing water that flows over a cooled surface.
Existing ice making machines have several shortcomings. For example, they form ice cubes relatively slowly, which leads to a low ice production rates at a given number of ice forming cells. For example, conventional ice making machines typically have ice production cycles of about 10-15 minutes. In order to provide required ice consumption during peak hours, conventional machines are typically equipped with a large size hopper. During storage, ice in the hopper requires mechanical agitation to avoid freezing of ice cubes together. This noticeably increases complexity and overall dimension of the ice making machine. Very often, a large hopper for ice storage is required, which in turn may require the hopper to be located remotely from the point of dispense. Transportation of ice from a remote location to the point of dispensing may add to complexity and operation of ice making. In addition, ice stored for a significant period of time may become contaminated. Conventional machines are not equipped to provide for harvesting of ice that is commensurate with ice production cycles of less than about 10-15 minutes.
Transparent or clear crystalline ice is produced from deaerated and purified water. In conventional ice making machines, deaeration and purification of water is achieved by slow layer-by-layer ice growth. This conventional process, in addition to being slow to allow layer-by-layer ice growth and adversely affecting ice production cycle, also results in water being wasted due to water evaporation during the slow layer-by-layer growth. During multiple ice production cycles using conventional ice making machines, residual water accumulates salts and impurities, and thus should be periodically drained. This draining of water is another contribution to water waste using conventional ice making machines.
Therefore, there is a need for a new ice making machine, which would provide faster ice cube freezing with less waste of water, and enable close to “ice-on-demand” production and harvesting rates, which in turn translates to a smaller overall machine footprint.